Lynch 8/9/10

As I near the end of the book, the less I am convinced by Lynch. It is not that I think he is wrong, I just find his arguments somewhat unconvincing and flaky. There are points he has a tendency to "cop-out" on: "Is the truth about yourself discovered or created? This again is a much larger question than I can answer here..." (145).

One point that I must disagree with Lynch on, however, is his point that an attitude directed towards the pursuit of truth is requisite for a liberal democracy. I argue that such an attitude would in fact impede democracy; voters vote not for those that speak the truth, but for those who have convinced them most passionately. Even if a candidate holds good intentions, his/her speaking the truth will likely offend people and their carefully constructed notion of reality, and thus must withhold some truths. If politicians were somehow incapable of lying, their careers would not only be ruined, but the government would either dissolve or become a dictatorship, because the constituents would find no candidate worth voting for!

Rant over!